Unthinkable Romance
by amourshipping
Summary: As Serena Tyler enters her last year of school, a new boy rocks her world.
1. Serena Tyler

"Hi! I'm Serena Tyler. There's not much to me really. I've got long honey blonde hair and blue eyes. I like to wear pink and red dresses, black tights, black shoes, black and white blouses. I also occasionally wear a pink hat and some white sunnies to go with it. I'm your typical shy girl, so going into school can be hard sometimes. Don't get me wrong though, I love school. My favourite subject is English without a doubt. I want to be a writer some day and be as famous as JK Rowling. But first I need my GCSEs. I'm just really trying to get on with my work. Oh! By the way, I think I should mention that I have a blog on Tumblr. It takes up a lot my life because I pretty much never stop using it. Just in case you're not living in the 21st Century, I'll tell you all about it. It's a blogging site where you can express yourself to your heart's content. I'm a fandom blogger which means my blog has pretty much everything I've ever liked in it. In other words, I post a lot of TV shows, films and cartoons that I watch or have watched. But the main reason why I love it is because the people on there are just so nice and it's so much easier to socialise with people on Tumblr. But anyway, that's me in a nutshell!"


	2. Back to School

It was the first day back at school, the 5th of September 2013 and Waterloo Academy had a new head to take over from the successor, Mr. Jack Rimmer. The whole senior management team left at the end of the summer term for unknown reasons. But some say they left because they had worked there far too long, despite not being eligible for a retirement plan and had had enough of school life at the Academy. The new head's name was Rose Mason. She was a fairly young head in her late 20s who had beautiful features which complimented her. Her hair was strawberry blonde which fitted nicely with her very optimistic persona and positive views on life. She was just what the school needed to get it back on its feet as it was labelled as a failing school by Ofsted and the Local Education Authority. It was certainly walking on egg shells. Her newly appointed Deputy Head, David Lawson was on gate duty. "Get to class now or you'll have me to answer to!" Everyone rushed inside, intimidated by the 6ft 5 man barking orders at them. David was about 10 years older than Rose and was very experienced at his profession. He was only in his 30s, but his face looked like he'd lived at least 15 years more. He wasn't your average deputy as he rarely wore a tie to work and looked quite unprofessional. But he still knew what he was doing and his looks were deceiving.

It was 8.30am as Serena got off the 158 bus, hiding underneath her hoody as she cautiously made her way to her form class. She was especially nervous and anti-social today as it was the first day back and the first day of year 11, a very crucial year for everyone. She wanted to go to College next year, so she needed to be extremely focused this year. Her best friend, Dawn Berlitz tapped her shoulder gently. Serena turned around gingerly. She was relieved to find Dawn behind her and smiled warmly at her. "Hi girlfriend!" said Dawn. "You ready for year 11, gorgeous?"  
"Oh, it's so not the drama everyone makes it out to be. And I really don't know what you're talking about."  
"What?"  
"You called me gorgeous, I'm far from it. I'm just an unappealing single pringle."  
"Oi, I don't want to hear that ever again Serena Tyler."  
"Yeah, but it's the truth."  
"No! How can you say that? You're so amazing Serena, you just don't realise it and someday you'll met a lucky guy who loves you for who you really are."  
"Ok then. If you say so Dawn."  
"Yes, I do say so! Now let's get the first lesson of year 11 out of the way!"


	3. Heart Problems

The two girls started to climb the torturous stairs to Maths when Serena suddenly stopped in her tracks. The reason for this was because she saw a new boy. He walked briskly and confidently to his Science lesson. He had raven black hair and was a trendy guy with a handsome face. "Serena, are you alright?" asked Dawn. She was concerned with her friend's state. She then realised what was going on. "You like him, don't you."  
"What. Him. No," said Serena defensively. Dawn started play fighting with Serena while she chanted "you're in love". The boy noticed this and was immediately flabbergasted at the first sight of Serena. He had sweat dripping down his face and his throat began to tighten up. He felt like he needed to quench a thirst. His head was having a mini meltdown as his brain cells rattled about uncontrollably. It was almost like his brain cells were questioning whether this was love at first sight or just a silly crush. His heart was throbbing in his chest, feeling like it was desperately attempting to escape. He was taken aback when his science teacher snapped him out of his trance. "What's your name young man?"  
"Uh, Ash Ketchum."  
"Right, inside Ash!" She ushered him into her classroom before he could get a second look at Serena. The girls' Maths teacher, Mr. Evans was now stood at the top of the stairs with an angry face. "Stop messing about on the stairs or you can both go to the cooler!" They quickly followed his orders and rushed upstairs. The cooler was the most feared room in the school as it was frighteningly cold, even though all the windows were barricaded with planks of wood and nails. No sunlight had ever hit the room. The word silence in block capital letters was written at the front of it, with each letter having its own sheet of A4 paper.


	4. English

The next day, Serena had her first English lesson of the year. Serena found a seat at the front. Ash arrived and sat next to her. Serena froze up. "Why is he sitting next to me?" thought Serena.  
"Hi, I'm Ash."  
"Uh, hi I'm Serena." Serena lowered her head down and blushed furiously. Everyone was nattering loudly as Mr. Clarkson came into the room. "Shush!" he shouted. The class sat down and kept their mouths shut as if there was an invisible zip fixated over their lips. "I'm handing you out a worksheet. Please complete it in silence." Mr. Clarkson was a fairly young teacher in his early 30's who knew how to handle troublesome students well. He was also very much involved in Pastoral Care as he practically fostered half of the school.


	5. Bus Ride Home

As the school bell rang, a battalion of students rushed outside the school gates, barging past each other. Mr. Lawson came out of his office. "Everybody stop!" He rushed over to the school gate and guided everyone out in a calm manner. Serena noticed this on her way out of English and decided to take the smarter, second exit on the other side of the school. She opened the gate, wondering why everyone was so stupid as to leave out of the same exit. She then unexpectedly felt someone tapping her shoulder. She almost stopped breathing as she turned around to face the mystery person. "Hey Serena!" said Ash. "You're a smart girl." He winked at her. "Huh, what do you mean?" She knew full well what he meant, but she wanted him to give her more compliments. "Coming around this way. Only a smart girl would think like the way you've done."  
"Oh, well thanks I guess". She blushed. "You're a smart guy too."  
"Thanks." It was Ash's turn to blush this time. "So what way are you going?"  
"Er, well I normally take the dreaded 158 back home, so I go left."  
"I go the same way. How about I come with you?"  
"Um, ok. Sure."  
"Alright then, come on!" He took Serena by the hand and ran towards the bus stop. "What's the rush?" asked Serena breathlessly. She wasn't the running type. "We're gonna miss it!"  
"Oh yeah, I got too caught up talking to you that I completely forgot when the bus was coming!" They just about caught it as the bus doors slammed shut behind them. They thanked the bus driver for letting them on. Ash put his oyster card on the sensor and waited for Serena to follow him. But she had unfortunately ran out of funds as the sensor flashed red. "Ash, I'm gonna have to catch you later."  
"Why?"  
"Because I've ran out of money on my oyster."  
"Oh, I see. Hang on a minute, I'll pay for you."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah." Ash gave the bus driver the fare.  
Serena paused for a while. She was astonished by such kindness. "Thank you Ash." They sat at the back of the bus. They remained quiet for the first couple of stops until Ash spoke. "So, where do you live?"  
"Oh erm, Vanville Town."  
"Oh right. I live in Pallet Town. So do you happen to have a Tumblr?"  
"Yep!"  
"Cool! Do you wanna do a follow for follow thing?"  
"Sure! How many followers do you have?"  
"1,000 and something. Yourself?"  
"I've got about the same as you."  
"Nice! I'm glad we've got something in common already."  
"Yeah, me too." Serena smiled warmly at Ash. They had talked for so long that they hadn't realised that Serena's journey was over. "Well this is my stop."  
"Oh alright. Take care!" Ash waved her goodbye.  
"Bye!" As she left, she admired how cute Ash looked saying goodbye. In her distraction, she stumbled on another passenger's leg. "Oh, I'm so sorry." Serena collected herself, headed out of the double doors and stepped onto the pavement. The bus driver quickly snapped the bus doors shut and drove frantically onwards. Serena turned around to catch a last look at Ash as he waved at her again. A guy she barely knew was giving her butterflies. She sighed. "Oh god, I have a crush on him."


	6. Miss Tyler & Mr Ketchum

Serena's next day at school started with a conversation with Miss Mason, who was asking her how all her studies were going. "So, how's our author of the year doing?" Serena laughed nervously.  
"I'm doing alright miss. I'm just really trying to focus on getting my grades for Maths & Science cause I've always found them difficult."  
"Well I'm sure Mr. Evans and Mr. Mead will guide you in the right direction with them." David suddenly appeared behind Rose.  
"Rose, we've got a problem with the English department."  
"What is it?" Rose was worried as the compassionate headmistress she was. "We're down an English teacher, Mr. Budgen to be precise."  
"What class is it?"  
"Year 7s and they're causing quite the disturbance downstairs."  
"Ok, I'll be there in a minute." Serena was rushing off. "Hang on a minute Serena!" Serena stopped and turned around reluctantly. "How would you like to have a go at teaching Mr. Budgen's Year 7s? "  
"Me. Teaching?"  
"Well you are in year 11, not to mention a prefect and you are set for all A*s in English. Oh and you'll be supervised of course." Serena thought about it for a second. "Ok, I'll do it. But only if I get to do it with someone else."  
"Ok, that's fine. Who do you want to assist you?"  
"Ash, if that's ok."  
"Oh, our new kid. Good choice, it'll let us know how well he is settling in."  
Serena smiled. "Ok, he should be in Pastoral Care class at the moment," said Serena. Rose, Serena and David made their way over to the class. Ash quickly turned his head, catching Serena's eyes. Rose knocked on the door twice, getting a nod to come in by Miss Possible. "Can I take Ash out for the lesson please?" The whole class made ohhh sounds, assuming that Ash was in trouble. "Shut up and grow up!" shouted Miss Possible. "Of course Miss Mason." Ash's heart sunk as he thought he had actually done something wrong too and quickly exited the classroom. "Don't look so petrified Ash," said Rose. "I just want to ask for a favour. Would you be willing to teach Mr Budgen's year 7's with Serena?"  
"Oh. Sure, that's fine." Ash was relieved.  
"Ok then. Well let's get downstairs then." They headed upstairs into the noisiest hallway in the school.  
"Year 7!" shouted Miss Mason. "Mr. Budgen is not in, so you will be taught by Miss Tyler & Mr. Ketchum. Mr. Lawson will supervise." Serena and Ash were handed a lesson plan by David and then signalled by him to start the lesson. All the kids sat down in their reserved seats and immediately started sighing as David sat at the back of the classroom. "Right year 7, I'm Serena and this is Ash. We are in year 11 and we're prefects as you can tell by our red and yellow ties. So, you are continuing with your work on Shakespeare, correct?"  
"Yes," murmured the whole class.  
"Ok then. Ash could hand out these sheets please?"  
"Certainly Miss Tyler." He said this in a silly voice and gave her a wink as the class laughed. Serena blushed. "Your task is to correctly fill in the explanations of the keywords and match them up with the right image. I'll give you 10 minutes to do that and then we'll put Romeo and Juliet on while you make notes on the main themes and ideas of the piece," said Ash. Everyone got on with their work while Mr. Lawson had an impressed smirk plastered across his face. "Ok, 10 minutes is up. Can we have some feedback please? What does number 1, the globe theatre match up to?" asked Ash. A student shot his hand up as Ash gave him the nod to answer. He gave the correct answer and got a pleased look from Ash. "I think he deserves a star for that, don't you think Miss Tyler?"  
"Yes, of course." Serena rattled about in Mr. Budgen's draw to find a sheet of deserted stars. "Here you go." She stuck a red star on the boy's shirt. The class shot all of their hands up as Ash posed his next question. "I haven't even finished the question yet. You're very keen aren't you?" Everyone laughed. Rose quickly stopped by to check on the two teens and was proud to see them in action. Once the Q&A had finished, they watched the famous love tale. The class was watching it intently, taking every detail in with curiosity. The bell rung halfway through it to the surprise of the class. "Ok, that was the lesson guys. We hope to see you again sometime," said Ash. The kids felt sad and wanted to watch the rest of the play. A truant girl made her way over to Ash and Serena. "Your lessons are so much better than Mr. Budgen's, can you be our teachers instead?" Mr. Lawson laughed and answered for Ash and Serena. "Mr. Budgen's always going to be your teacher unfortunately. But you never know. If you're lucky enough, you may just have Miss Tyler and Mr. Ketchum again sometime." The girl smiled and then left the classroom. Ash and Serena realized they had their own lesson to go to and quickly headed to English.


	7. Creative Writing

They rushed into the classroom 5 minutes late to the disapproval of Mr. Clarkson. "Right year 11, guess what you are doing today. You lucky teens are going to do a bit of creative writing for your coursework." Serena's face lit up as she tried to contain her excitement while the rest of the class groaned. Ash didn't join them though as he had a secret passion for creative writing himself. Mr. Clarkson continued talking. "So, you can pick any genre you like. As long as it's original. That means no plagiarising, Ms. Rhiannon Salt." Everyone laughed at his remark as she was persistent plagiariser. "You may now begin in absolute silence, using only your plan which you prepared last week. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." Serena looked at her planning sheet and noticed something she didn't like. In fine print, it stated that the maximum for this piece of coursework was 2,000 words. Serena became disheartened as she scanned over the number for a second time. She raised her hand. "Yes Miss Tyler?"  
"Sir, it says there's a limit of 2,000 words for the coursework."  
"Yes there is."  
"So does that mean I can't go over it otherwise I fail?"  
"Not necessarily Serena. But don't go too overboard. I know you and how much you like to write."  
"What do you mean by overboard?"  
"I mean, don't write any more than 2,500 cause then you'd be pushing it."  
"Ok, sir." Serena wrote at 50 words per minute for the rest of class until Mr. Clarkson shouted out "stop!" Everyone except Serena and Ash was relieved at the sudden end to the lesson. Their bags were packed away violently as they all left in a haste to Mr. Clarkson's dismay. "Was it really that bad guys?" asked Mr. Clarkson.  
"Yes," said a boy called Ben.  
"Well, your friend over there seemed to enjoy it." Mr. Clarkson gestured over to Ash. "Maybe you've taken a leaf out of Serena's book Ash."  
"I've always liked writing stories sir. Ever since I was in Nursery," replied Ash. "Really? It seems that you have a hidden talent then."  
"Oh no. I love it, but I don't think I'm gonna be the next J.K Rowling any time soon."  
"Never say never Ash. We've all got it in us to become aspirational writers. You've just gotta believe in yourself and have a passion for it which you already have. You're half-way there already!"  
"Thanks, sir. Anyway, me and Serena need to go get some lunch now."  
"Oh right, have fun on your date then." Tom winked at them. Serena instantly blushed and retracted his statement. "Do you think we're going out with each other, sir?"  
"No, but you two seem like you'd make a good couple. Especially now that I know you both share an undying passion for creative writing."  
"Right…" Serena felt a little awkward.  
"See you later," said Mr. Clarkson. Ash politely closed the door behind him.


	8. Lunch

Ash and Serena joined the lunch queue. "He thinks we're going out with each other," whispered Serena into Ash's ears. Ash laughed. "We're just really good friends, right?" What Ash really wanted to say is why they couldn't be going out. But he didn't want Serena to feel weirded out by it. Serena's first thoughts in response to this were very sad. She particularly took notice of Ash's use of the word "friends". Serena's mind was taken over by two voices. One said that she'll never have a chance with someone so perfect, while the other was feeding her false hope. The false hope was saying why not? Serena then reached the counter as the canteen assistant, Mrs. Budgen, was stood there with a blank look. She waved her hand in front of Serena's face. "Hello, earth to Serena," chimed Mrs. Budgen.  
"Huh?" Serena snapped out of her trance.  
"What would you like to eat, pet?" Mrs. Budgen had an impatient expression plastered across her face. "Oh, I'll have the fish and chips seeing as in its Friday."  
"Very well." Mrs. Budgen dumped a heap load chips on Serena's empty plate. Ash was waiting for her at the end of queue to Serena's surprise. She hurriedly made her way to his side. "So where would you like to sit?" asked Ash like a gentleman. "How about over there?" Serena pointed at an all-girl table. Dawn was gossiping loudly with the group. "Um, ok," said Ash. He felt a little bit awkward as he was going to be the only guy on the table. As they sat down, an uproar of noise filled the air as two year 9 boys stood up and began pushing each other. "Another fight, really," said Serena. She shook her head. Mr. Lawson ran over to the scene and forced himself in between them. "Cooler, now! Both of you!" Everyone continued eating their food and acted like nothing happened. "That's the seventh fight I've seen this week," said Serena. "Why do boys have to be so immature? No offence Ash, you're different."  
"Am I?" asked Ash.  
"Yeah, you're a down to earth sort of guy," said Misty, one of Serena's friends. Serena was shocked by this comment. "But you hardly know Ash, Misty," said Serena.  
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't compliment him." Misty gave Ash a wink. Serena's face screwed up a little as she angrily shovelled chips into her mouth.


	9. Form Class

It was 1.45pm which meant it was time for afternoon form class. Serena's tutor, Miss Boston entered the classroom last. She was late because she had been held up in the Pupil Referral Unit. "Alright year 11, settle down!" she bellowed. I'm going to call the register now. As soon as I do, could you please stand behind your desks quietly?" Miss Boston finished the register just in time. Everyone barged their way out of the door, whilst some tried to use the back door which led to a neighbouring classroom. "Mr. Finnegan, can you please use the correct exit!" Miss Boston really hated when they tried to exit the wrong way. "And that goes for everybody else!" She then started pacing towards the exit like she was running a mini-marathon.


	10. Citizenship

Ash walked upstairs to his next class. Serena and Misty were trying to catch up with him. Misty caught up first. "Hey Ash!" Misty gave him a wide grin. "Hey Misty!"  
"So what do you think we're doing in Citizenship today then?" Misty started twirling one of her ginger ponytails. "The coursework of course! Don't you remember?"  
"No." Misty seemed to be confused. Serena finally got passed the battalion of year 10s barging their way downstairs. Their teacher, Mr. Hofmann came out of the opposite room. "That's very worrying Misty," said Mr. Hofmann. "What is?"  
"That you don't remember what we're doing today." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and forced the classroom door open. Everyone sat down and awaited their instructions. "I trust that everyone's at the stage where you should all be putting your campaigns into action," said Mr. Hofmann. Everyone nodded as Mr. Hofmann continued. "So who's doing the buddy scheme?" Ash, Serena, Misty, Dawn and Ben put up their hands. "Cool. What about the elderly homes people?" Five more members of the class raised their hands as he continued to ask who was doing what. "Right." Mr. Hofmann turned his attention back to Serena's group. "Buddy scheme group. I understand that you have already had your meeting with Mrs. Budgen." They all nodded. "So your job today is to record all of this down into your log book. What times have you set to meet up with the year 7s?"  
"Tuesday before school, Wednesday lunch time and Thursday after school," replied Ben.  
"Good. It all seems to be going well. Keep up the good work." The lesson felt like a millennia, but the bell eventually went. Religious Education was the class' next lesson.


	11. Religious Education

Everyone entered the classroom. "Ugh, Miss Natt," said Serena to herself. Serena didn't like her at all because she was always overly excited and pushed her eyeballs out a lot. The majority of the boys thought she was fit. But Ash had the same opinion on her as Serena. "Right, ok. I know its sixth period on a Friday, but I don't frankly care. You have an exam coming up in May. Today, we are going to do the War and Peace unit in more detail," bellowed Miss Natt. Serena loved R.E. and liked to learn about different religious beliefs. It was just a shame she didn't like the teacher. She decided to shut Miss Natt's voice out of her head and teach the subject to herself. "Are you listening to me, Serena?" asked Miss Natt. Serena babbled a couple of words, getting a couple of laughs from the class. She regained herself. "Yes, miss." As soon as Miss Natt turned away and continued teaching, Serena returned her head to her book and ignored the overpowering voice. She could do this quite easily because she was sat at the back of class, next to Ben and not as noticeable as the rest of class. But she also hated sitting at the back. She was short-sighted, so it meant she had to put on her glasses. She thought that they made her look nerdy and tried to avoid putting them on at all costs. Ash was sat at the front of the class. He missed Serena's presence. Misty was sat next to him. She kept asking him questions about himself in a whispering tone, while he was trying to give her the hint to shut up so he could listen to Miss Natt. "Misty!" shouted Miss Natt. "Care to explain what a lesser and a greater jihad is?"  
"Er, I don't know miss." Misty looked down at her book, feeling embarrassed. "That's not a surprise, seeing as in you're more interested in flirting with Ash." Serena's head shot up instantly. She hated whenever any girl flirted with Ash. But it annoyed her so much more to see Misty flirt with him. Ben chuckled to himself. "Anymore flirting with Ash and you can go straight to the cooler!" said Miss Natt.  
"Sorry miss," muttered Misty. Serena smirked.  
"Ok. Ash. Can you tell me?" asked Miss Natt.  
"Er, a greater jihad is mental struggle for peace and a lesser one is physical struggle for peace."  
"Correct." The bell rang to the satisfaction of the whole class. "Freedom!" said the class. "Oi!" shouted Miss Natt. "Did I at any point say you could go?"  
"Well the bell went," said Ben.  
"So what!" She paused for a while and then allowed the class to leave. Everyone sighed in relief as they thought she was going to keep them longer.


	12. Friday Night

Ash ran up behind Serena and put his hands over her eyes. "Guess who," he said playfully.  
"Oh, I wonder who it could be. Maybe you should give me a clue." Serena acted like she didn't recognise Ash's voice, just for the fun of it. "Well I'm one of your besties and I love Badminton."  
"Ash!" Serena laughed. Ash always loved it when he heard Serena's laughter because he thought it was so angelic; like a group of cherubs singing harmonies to him. But he especially loved it when he made her laugh. "Correct!" He then took Serena by the hand and led her out of the school gates. Serena was taken aback by this as she never expected Ash to do something like that with her again. Mr. Clarkson was carrying out his after school duty at the front gates as he noticed the running pair. "Ah, young love," he said to himself. Ash and Serena headed towards the bus stop. This time, the journey wasn't so rushed as they waited for two minutes. "How about I come round to yours, Serena?" asked Ash. Serena felt this was so random but loved the idea anyway. "Er, I don't know about that. I'd have to ask my mum first." The bus arrived right on time. They sat down at the back again. Serena pulled out her iPhone. Her wallpaper was a picture of her one true pairing, Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter. She called her mother. "Hey mum!" said Serena.  
"Hello sweetie! What's up?"  
"Is it ok if Ash comes round today?"  
"Of course! And is that the same Ash you go on about non-stop every day after school?"  
"Yeah," said Serena. She blushed as her cheeks turned a bright pink.  
"Well ok then, see you soon. I'm really looking forward to meet the great Ash." Serena laughed and then said bye.  
"So, can I come round then?" asked Ash. He was filled with excitement and suspense. "Sure," replied Serena. Ash held his hand up high, wanting to give Serena a hi-five. Serena eagerly slapped her hand against Ash's. Just then, the bus voiceover chimed "Vanville Station" as the two teens leapt up from their seats. They rushed over to the exit doors and pressed the stop button. Ash ran out in front of Serena. "Come and catch me if you think you're fast enough!" Ash looked like Usain Bolt to Serena as he speedily ran past several people. She tried to catch up with him, but became breathless halfway through the run. "Wow, he's fit," thought Serena to herself. She sighed admirably at his physique. Ash stopped and realized that he was going too fast for Serena and ran back to her. "Well I guess we know who's faster now!" Ash laughed. "Shut up!" Serena ran out in front of him after gaining her breath. "That's cheating! You got a head start!"  
"So did you!" Serena ran into Vanville town. Ash caught up with her at her front gate and smiled. "So this is where you live." Ash took in every detail of the town. "Yep, this is where I've lived my whole life."  
"So let's go inside!" Ash was full of excitement and curiosity. He was about to ring the bell when Serena stopped him. "No need for that, I've got keys." She raised her arm and fitted the key into the correct hole and opened the door. "Hi mum, we're here now!"  
"Oh right. I'm coming down! Hello, you must be Ash."  
"Yes, that's right Ms. Tyler."  
"Please, call me Grace."  
"Oh, ok."  
"You're very polite, I like that. It's a very rare quality for guys nowadays."  
"He's a keeper," whispered Grace to Serena as she blushed again.  
"What did you say?" asked Ash. He was confused as to why Serena's cheeks were now matching the colour of her hat. "Oh, nothing," replied Grace as she proceeded to the kitchen. "So what would you guys like to eat and drink?" Grace showed them a table full of confectionaries. "Wow, you really know how to treat your guests well Grace!"  
"Thank you!" Ash and Serena chose what they wanted. They ran upstairs to Serena's room. "Keep the door open!"  
"We will!" Serena shouted back.  
"Oh my god," said Ash. He was astounded at Serena's room.  
"What? What's wrong?"  
"Your room is… awesome!"  
"Oh thank you!"  
"I mean, look at all these cool posters of Doctor Who and Harry Potter."  
"Well, what can I say? I'm a fandom lover!"  
"So I see! Oh and your blog is just as cool."  
"Aww, thanks Ash."  
"You're welcome." They sat down.  
"So what do you wanna do?" asked Ash.  
"Uh, well I've got a few games on my PS3 and Wii we could play."  
"You're so awesome! How about we play Lego Star Wars?"  
"Sure, you're the guest!" They ended up playing Lego Star Wars for about two hours until Grace shouted up. "Ash, what time do you have to be home at?"  
"Er, in about half an hours' time."  
"Oh right. What's your mum's number so I can let her know?"  
Ash dashed downstairs to give Grace his mother's number.  
"Hello, is that Mrs. Ketchum?"  
"Yes. But please, call me Delia," replied Mrs. Ketchum.  
"Hi Delia. I'm Grace, Serena's mum. I just wanted to let you know that your Ash is around my house and I'll be dropping him back home soon."  
"Oh ok. Thank you very much for allowing Ash to stay at your house and thank you in advance for the lift."  
"Oh, it's no biggie. My Serena gets really happy when she's with your Ash and they are best friends now, so it's no trouble at all." Ash blushed a little when Grace said he makes Serena happy. Delia laughed as the two mothers said goodbye to each other. "So where exactly do you live Ash?"  
"14 Pallet Town."  
"Oh, I know where that is! That's just around the corner from Odeon cinema. Serena and I go there all the time!"  
"Oh wow! Maybe we could organise a trip to the cinema sometime in the future?"  
"Yeah, that'd be really nice." She smiled warmly. "Right, I guess we better get going otherwise your mother won't be too happy!"  
"Yes, of course."  
"Serena!" shouted Grace.  
"Yeah?"  
"Come down and say bye to Ash." Serena ran downstairs and gave Ash a hug. "I'll see you later on dear." Ash and Grace left the house and got into Grace's Ford Mondeo. "So Ash. I hear you share a liking for writing stories with Serena."  
"Yeah, I do. I've always loved writing stories since I could write."  
"Well I understand your passion for writing, but you seem more like the physical type."  
"I am! I really love Badminton and Basketball. But I just prefer writing."  
"Oh, right." The journey was about twenty minutes as they arrived at Ash's house. "Well I'll see you later Ash."  
"Thanks for lift. See ya Grace!" He got out of the car and waved her goodbye. Ash opened his front gate, pulled out his keys and entered the house. "Hi mum!" He headed straight for the nearest sofa. Delia rushed downstairs and hugged her "Ashy" as she liked call him. "So, how'd your date with Serena go?" Ash sweatdropped.  
"It wasn't a date!"  
"Well it sure seemed that way to me!" Delia gave him a cheeky grin. Ash switched the tele on, shaking his head. "Time to watch Eastenders me thinks."


	13. Confession

Three weeks later, it was Ash's birthday. Every year 11 student couldn't wait for Ash's party. It was described as the party of the year. Serena and Dawn arrived together at 6pm. As soon as they sat down, Ben walked over to Dawn and asked her if she wanted to dance. She said yes and left Serena on her own. Ash came out of his kitchen, greeted Serena and asked her if she wanted to dance. She profusely accepted as some girls glared at her in envy. They danced for a while. Ash let go of Serena and gave her a sad smile. "What's wrong Ash?" She sensed that Ash had something on his mind and seemed troubled. "Nothing, I'm fine. But can we go somewhere private. I need to tell you something."  
"Um, ok. Sure." He guided her into his bathroom and inhaled deeply before opening his mouth up to speak.  
"Serena Tyler, you are going to be the death of me."  
"Huh. Why, what have I done?"  
"Y-you've stolen my heart."  
"What, no that's not possible. Me? Are you sure you're talking to the right girl?" She refused to accept Ash's confession.  
"Yes. I am talking to the right girl. I love you..." He locked lips with her and embraced her in a soft but passionate kiss. Serena was shocked but ecstatic. She didn't resist and wrapped her arms around Ash's neck. "I love you too." The kiss was brief but just right. They stared at each other blankly and laughed.


	14. Did Ash and I? Did We?

The next morning, Serena woke up feeling different than most days. It was like something important had been added to her life, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her mind fixated on the person that she thought most about since September. "What happened last night?" Serena sat up and scratched her head. She shrugged it off and stepped into the shower. As the hot water hit her face, her gooey eyes lit up. They widened in realization. She turned the shower off and sat on the toilet. "Did Ash and I? Did we?" She thought it was too good to be true as she frantically dialled Ash's number. "Hey sweetie!" replied Ash. He spoke in a slow romantic voice. "What exactly happened between us yesterday?"  
"Don't you remember?" Ash's heart sank a little.  
"I think I do, but I don't believe it. Did it actually happen?"  
"Well it depends what you mean by it."  
"You know, the I love you confessions".  
"Yeah, that totally did happen." Ash smiled goofily.  
"Oh my god, so does that mean we are… you know… an item now?"  
"Well I sincerely hope so!"  
"Well I guess we are then." Serena was grinning ear to ear. Ash's heart skipped a few beats. "You know I'm officially the luckiest man in the world as of now. Hang on a minute, the exact time is 10.07am, Saturday the 12th of July 2014." Serena laughed, finding Ash's preciseness amusing. "Well I think I better record that down too."  
"Has anyone ever told you that you have the cutest laugh?"  
"No, I don't believe anyone has." Serena twirled her hair as her new boyfriend flirted with her. "So, we've got that prom coming up next week Friday."  
"Oh yeah, I can't wait!"  
"Nor can I. But now that we are more than friends, I think that we should tell our friends about us. What do you think?"  
"Yeah, we should! But try not to rub it in their faces, cause then we'll just come across as really annoying friends."  
"Yeah, true. And of course you'll be my date to the prom, right?"  
"Of course honey. We can make all the other girls jealous."  
"Yeah and not to mention all the guys too!" Serena laughed.  
"I'm not so sure about that, but ok then."


	15. Prom Preparations

The summer exams had finished a month ago, which meant it was now time for the annual prom. Waterloo Academy had sent out letters telling everyone to attend next Friday at 5pm. Serena was stressing about what to wear the night before the prom, so she called Dawn over. She was an expert with this sort of thing. "Hey girlfriend!" said Serena.  
"Hey!"  
"Ok, sit down. I've got something big to tell you before I tell you the real reason I invited you over."  
"Ok."  
"Right. Here goes. I'm not gonna be alone at the prom."  
"What?! I thought you were dateless."  
"Not anymore! And I have more than a date."  
"Huh?"  
"For the first time ever, I have a bf!" Dawn gasped.  
"No way!"  
"Yeah and guess who it is."  
"Er, I don't know, it could be any hot guy really."  
"Oh for god's sake Dawn, who do I ogle over every time I'm within a mile of him?"  
"Oh, Ash! You two are gonna be so cute together!"  
"Aww, thanks Dawn." Serena gave her a nuzzling hug. "Ok, now you need to help me pick out a dress that is gonna leave Ash drooling on the dance floor!" The female teens spent hours picking a dress, going through what felt like twenty five dresses until Dawn nodded her head at a fancy red dress. "What about you Dawn, what are you wearing?" Dawn pulled out her phone, tapped a few buttons and shoved a picture of her in a blue dress in Serena's face. "Oh my god! That dress goes so well with you hair!"  
"I know. I'm glad you think so too!"  
"So who's your date then? Ben?"  
"No, it's not."  
"What? But I thought you two were getting to know each other."  
"Yeah, but I kinda realized that I don't like him as much as I thought I did."  
"Oh. So who are you going with then?"  
"James!"  
"What? James Adams? The most popular boy in school?"  
"Yep."  
"The same one you've had a crush on since year 7?"  
"Yep!"  
"So how'd you do it then?"  
"I just caught him walking on his own back from school, which is a rarity might I add and I came right out with it!"  
"I'm so happy for you Dawn!"  
"Thanks Serena!"


	16. Early Morning Rush

Friday morning was slowly easing in for Serena as she woke up at the crack of dawn. She yawned and slammed her alarm clock buzzer. She sat on her bed for a minute and stretched her arms mindlessly. She gasped. "It's prom day!" She fell off her bed due to the excitement and sweatdropped, hoping she hadn't woken Grace up. She scrambled to her feet and darted into the bathroom. After washing herself and vigorously brushing every strand of her hair, she turned on her phone and began texting Dawn and Ash frantically. Unfortunately, she had created all too much noise and had startled Grace. "Do you know what time it is?!" Her hands were placed rather firmly on her hips as her eyebrows furrowed downwards a little. "Yes mum, but I have to be ready by midday and you know how long it takes me to get ready."  
"Fair enough." Grace released her hands from her hips. "But what is so important that you need to be ready by 12?"  
"I'm going bowling and playing badminton with Ash, Dawn & James before the prom."  
"Blimey, you've let yourself in for a hectic day. Well as long as your home before nine, that's fine by me."  
"No need to worry as Dawn says!" Grace stifled a laugh and then headed back to sleep for a few more hours.

11.30am. Serena was nowhere near ready to leave as she made numerous adjustments to herself. Ash texted her, asking where she was and sent a cute little x and love heart emoticon with it. Serena looked at the message in awe and then hurriedly texted back: I may be a little late honey x 3. She texted Dawn something similar and then ran up and down the stairs for twenty minutes until she was satisfied with herself. 11.50am. Serena shouted up to Grace that she was finally leaving. With a large thud of the front door, she began what could be the best day of her life, barring her wedding day of course. "Right, time to frantically run for the 158."


	17. Bowling

12.25pm. Serena had made it at last. She stepped out of the bus and saw a battalion of teenagers hovering around the entrance of the bowling alley. "Must be a popular day for bowling." But something distinctive, something black, something spiky was sticking out in the middle of the crowd. The mysterious spiky-haired person was flailing his arms about, almost as if he was signalling directly to Serena. Serena pushed past the crowd until her eyes met her boyfriend's. She embraced him in a hug and fixated her head into his chest. Dawn ran behind Serena, swayed left to right and giggled childishly as Serena tried to investigate this somewhat annoying presence behind her. "Dawn!" Serena finally faced Dawn who now had a cheeky grin on her face. She stuck her tongue out and lifted her hand up. Serena knew what that meant in Dawn's language and lifted her hand too. "Hi five!" shouted Dawn. As if on cue, a tall, blonde, lady-killer ambled towards the trio. "James!" shouted Dawn. She pulled him into a passionate hug and tugged his shirt with force. "What's this in aid of?" His arms engaged her back, but not half as ferocious as hers. Serena chuckled. She knew full well that if given the chance, Dawn would snog James until he couldn't breathe and give him multiple love bites on his neck to make sure that everyone knew that he was hers.

12.30pm. "Thank god we already booked a bowling lane," said Serena. The double daters headed over to lane 7. Ash and James organised the setup of the game as Serena and Dawn gossiped about each other's relationships. "James and I don't exactly have what you and Ash do yet Serena, but we'll get there someday." Dawn's eyes shone optimistically.  
"Hey! I know it seems all hunky dory, but you have to run through all the possibilities in your head. You never know, James may just be a silly crush."  
"Yeah, I know Serena. But I just really think he could be the one you know. I've done this before with guys like Gary, I know how relationships can work."  
"Well as long as you remember that."  
"Right you two lovely ladies!" beamed Ash. Time for us boys to thrash you." Dawn and Serena shook their heads.  
"I don't think so boo," said Serena.  
"It's my turn first," said James. He bowled a medium sized bowling ball across the polished wooden surface. A perfect strike was called by the computer as James smirked at everyone. Dawn's sapphire eyes turned mushy. "Well done mate," said Ash. It was his turn now. Another perfect strike was projected onto the computer as Ash reciprocated James' smirk and made Serena go mushy. "Selfie!" shouted Dawn. She flipped her iPhone out in front of everyone and initiated her signature peace pose. "This is going straight on Tumblr!" exclaimed Ash. The first round finished with James and Ash drawing with 75 points, whereas Dawn had 60 and Serena had 50. "9 more rounds to go," stated Serena. "I'm just warming up!" The last round saw Ash and James fighting for first place as Serena unbelievably took over Dawn 750 points to 680. The boys both had 880 points as it came down to the last bowl. "Stttrrrike!" exclaimed James. Ash picked up a bowling ball and lined it up to the middle of the pins. He hurled it. Nine fell over as the tenth was wobbling friskily from side to side. Ash ran his hands through his hair dramatically. The tenth pin eventually gave way as the match ended in a draw. Ash and James shook hands, amused by the result after such rivalry was created. "Right! It's time!" said Ash.  
"For what?" asked James.  
"You know. That thing I love."  
"What? Its Serena time?" Dawn burst out in hysterical laughter.  
"Oh god, you are so funny James!"  
"No. I mean of course I love Serena, but I also love badminton!"  
"Oh! We better get moving. Before we know it, it'll be prom time!" said Serena. Ash swept Serena off her feet and he guided her out of the bowling alley, with Dawn straggling James behind them. Rushing Serena off to the closest bus stop was becoming quite the trademark for Ash. His actions were very convenient as they caught a 34 bus to the Badminton courts.


	18. Badminton

"I swear, once I turn 17 I'm going to get driving lessons and get a car so I can drive my honey blonde queen anywhere she wants," said Ash.  
"Aw, thank you sweetie." Serena's head was resting on Ash's shoulder as he breathed her scent. He sighed happily. James and Dawn were getting to know each other's mouths. James wasn't quite as keen as Dawn, but still enjoyed it nonetheless. "This is our stop!" shouted Ash. Ash looked over to the kissing pair. "Well, well, well. It seems that you two have got better acquainted." James and Dawn had not quite registered that the journey was over. "Oh yeah, right," said Dawn.

Like a 5-year old, Ash rushed to the counter and explained that they had booked a court for an hour. The worker behind the desk smiled and gave the four teens the equipment they needed for the hour. "Oh, god. I'm terrible at badminton," said Dawn.  
"No need to worry. I'll help you," said James.  
"Oh my god James! You just said my catchphrase!"  
"Oh well. If one repeats a phrase in the presence of another so frequently, surely the other person, me in this case would pick up that phrase somewhere along the line and use it in their own dialect."  
"You're so smart." Dawn grabbed James' arm and sighed lovingly up at him. Ash laughed and gave James a wink. "Right, I think it's fair to say that this'll be a battle of the couples," said Ash.  
"Yeah, why not?" replied Dawn.  
"I hope you know that Serena and I are quite the match together. Especially now we have the power of love behind us."  
"Oh well, we'll have to double our efforts then," said James. Ash hit the shuttlecock in the air to determine who would go first. It landed facing himself as he picked it up and swung it across lightly. "What do you call that?" asked James.  
"Oh, I'm just getting warmed up." Ash returned a slightly more powerful shot from James. This style of gameplay continued with the shots getting ever so slightly more powerful with every hit, until the score was 11-10 to Ash and Serena. The game was currently set up as Serena vs James as Ash reminded Serena that this would be the match point if she got it in any part of the score zone. Serena gave it her best shot as James ran backwards, attempting to smash it back. His racket made contact with the shuttlecock… but it dropped to the floor as James slowly opened his mouth in shock. Ash's fists punched the air. He span Serena around in a tight hug and kissed her on the lips. James had misjudged the power of Serena's hit. The two couples exchanged handshakes. They respected each other's gameplay and agreed that it was a fair and enjoyable game. 4.03pm. "Oh my god! There's only 57 minutes until prom starts!" exclaimed Dawn. Everyone rushed out of the badminton court. "Ok, so here's the plan. We all go our separate ways back to our houses, get changed and meet each other at school at 10 to 5. Deal?" proposed James. "Deal!"  
"Allons-y!" said Ash. 


	19. Prom Night

Serena got home at 4.25pm and was frantically re-organising herself for the big evening. Grace rushed downstairs and insisted on giving Serena a lift. "You can't arrive at a prom on a bus! That's only for the dateless people."  
"Mum! That's rude." Serena couldn't help but sniggering a little though.  
"But it's still funny though! Anyway, let's go!"  
"I think the correct way to say it is allons-y!"  
"Yes, of course it is." Grace dropped Serena off. Serena was greeted by Miss Mason. "Hello! All set for the prom I see!" She smiled. "Oh Serena. The school and I are very proud of you and your achievements here over the past 5 years. I've seen pictures of you when you were a 4 foot 11 year old. Much quieter, but essentially still a young girl bursting with intelligence. "Hehe, thanks miss," she said coyly. "Miss?"  
"Yes Serena?"  
"Can I just say that you've only been at our school for a year, but you're honestly the best head I've ever had." Now it was Rose's turn to be coy as she became a little flustered. "Aww, thank you very much! I wish you and Ash every success at college. And if you're still together by the end of uni, please don't hesitate to send me a wedding invitation!"  
"What? How do you know about us miss?"  
"Ah." She tapped her nose gently. "Nothing gets past us head teachers you know." Serena laughed and waved goodbye to Rose. Dawn stood at the school entrance, waiting for everyone in her blue dress. Ash and James appeared, attiring fancy tuxedos with white bowties. "Milady," announced James to Dawn. He extended his arm out to her. "Oh, how charming." She giggled and gushed over him as she intertwined her arm with his. Serena made her way over to Ash as their gazes met each other. "Bowties are cool!" exclaimed Ash. He fixed his bowtie and extended his arm out. "You really are my soulmate you know Ash."  
"And you are mine. We are like Ten and Rose, deeply and madly in love. Except for the part where, you know, they get split up from each other in parallel worlds."  
"Where have you been my whole life?" Serena kissed him passionately on the lips. Ash didn't respond as he escorted his honey blonde queen to the dancehall.


	20. Never Stop Needing You

p style="line-height: 150%; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"As soon as they entered, I love you by V.V Brown started playing. "Aww, I love this song!" shouted Dawn. She pushed James into the centre of the dancehall. "C'mon babe, let's join," said Ash. Serena placed her hands on Ash's shoulders. Mr. Clarkson was perched near the punch table, guarding it in case some nitwit tried to spike it. He peered over to the two lovebirds and gave them a thumbs up. Everyone was encapsulated in the slow dance as the room was full of blissful, carefully timed steps. Serena suddenly started crying faintly. "Hey, what's wrong sexy?" /spanspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"br / span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;""Oh it's nothing…"/spanbr / span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;""Tell me."/spanbr / span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;""It's just my life was so rubbish before I met you, you know. You're the most beautiful boy I've ever laid eyes on and… I never stop needing you."/spanbr / span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;""Aww, sweetie you've always been the kind type. You know. Believe it or not, my life was pretty rubbish too. But I've found my queen now, so that doesn't matter. You are all I need. Your breath, smile, tears, eyes, even your cute little nose." Serena laughed and touched her nose. "It's all mine and never wanna let it go… ever!" Serena blushed. She'd lost count of how many times Ash had made her blush. The music stopped as Miss Possible ran onto the hall stage. "Right guys! It's time to announce the prom king and queen! Wahey! Ok, so the royalties ruling over us for 2014 are… Serena Tyler and Ash Ketchum!" Serena's jaw dropped as far as it could. Dawn pulled her jaw back together and gave her a little push onto the stage. Ash reached his hand out as he helped Serena up the steps. Many girls gave Serena bitchy expressions in envy. But Serena just shook it off and accepted her crown. "See! What did I say! You ARE a queen Serena!" Serena grinned. Those who weren't jealous clapped for them. Shake it off by Taylor Swift suddenly sent the whole hall of 16 year-olds into a manic frenzy. By the time the song was half-done, Dawn was suffocating James with kisses whilst Ash and Serena danced the night away./span/span/p 


End file.
